Tony Abbott’s 10 commandments

An odd column today from Health Minister Tony Abbott, in which I think he’s saying Catholics used to be involved in the Labor Party way back when, but now the Libs better represent Catholic values while Labor voters are a bunch of godless atheist heathen secular humanist progressive types.

Abbott dismisses Kevin Rudd’s own religious convictions, and his me-too assertion that Labor politicos can be just as nutso religious as their Coalition counterparts, as “politically correct Christianity”. He adds that “Voters seem to have concluded any affinity between Labor policies and Christian values is more by accident than design”.

Spruiking his side of politics’s credentials as Jesus freaks, Abbott says:

The Howard Government has overturned euthanasia laws, banned gay marriage, stopped the ACT heroin trial, encouraged independent schools, contracted Job Network services to church organisations, established pregnancy support counselling and improved the absolute and relative financial standing of families with children.

The worst part is, I think he’s saying these are good things.

Banned gay marriage, which otherwise threatened to tear apart the Fabric of Society and the Institution of Marriage itself.

Stopped the ACT heroin trial that prevented heroin addicts from dying of overdoses or AIDS.

Encouraged independent (private, some of them Catholic) schools, to the immense and growing detriment of public ones.

(Yes, I know I skipped euthanasia. Hitler, to pick a random example, not making any comparisons, was pro-euthanasia.)

Abbott’s final shot at those Labor atheist communists is:

A key difference between the Government and many of its opponents is that its senior members think the values of the Ten Commandments are common sense as much as religious dogma.

Tony, Tony, Tony . . . Ten Commandments, common sense? And wait, Ten Commandments, more Liberal than Labor? Let’s just see about that.

1. Believe in god (I’m paraphrasing). It is the absolute opposite of common sense to believe in something for which there is no proof. It’s called faith, not common sense.

2. Don’t believe in other gods or make idols. Money or George W Bush, for example. Or Australian Idol. (At least some Liberal politicos said they wanted to ban Big Brother.)

3. Don’t misuse the name of god. To win elections.

4. Remember the sabbath day and keep it holy. By taking away penalty rates for people who work on the sabbath day and allowing employers to force them to work on the sabbath day or get the sack.

5-8. Honour parents, don’t murder, don’t commit adultery, don’t steal. We all know how Kevin Rudd likes to mow down pedestrians in stolen cars while getting blown by a woman other than his wife and shouting out the window “Fuck you, mum and dad!”